Toe-rail for vehicles.



Tatented July 2, IBM.

s P mmune. TOE BAIL FOB VEHICLES.

(Application filed. Hat. 1, 1901.)

(No Model.)

I INVENTOI? \SW Y WJ' ATTORNEY WITNESSES. 640. A 744 UNITED STATES PATENT FErcE.

SHERIDAN P. HOTALING, OF IRA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FAY CLIFFORD ADAMS, OF SAME PLACE.

TOE-RAIL FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,743, dated July 2, 1901.

Application filed March 1, 1901.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, SHERIDAN P. HOTALING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the village of Ira, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toe-Rails for Vehicles, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to toe-rails for vehicles, and has for its object to provide a rail which is simple in construction, which may be readily and quickly removed or placed in position on the vehicle, and yet which will be firmly secured in place without danger of accidental displacement.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of my improved toe-rail, showing it in position on a portion ofa vehicle-bed. Fig. 2 is a side View of the rail, showing the manner of mounting the same; and Fig. 3 is a detail view showing a slight variation of one of the parts, to which reference will be made hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings by letters, like let-- ters indicating like parts in the several views,

Cb denotes a toe-rail, formed of a continuous piece and having its ends turned down at right angles to the central portion to form supporting-posts c c, said parts 0 0 being preferably curved at their lower ends, as shown in Fig. 3, to give the proper rake or slant to the rail and bring the lower engaging ends of the posts 0 0 into a proper relation to socket or key plates h j, which are embedded in the bed or floor K of the vehicle. The lower ends of the posts a c are provided with engaging devices, such as hooks e g, which may be readily engaged with the sockets or holes in the plates h and j by entering the points of the hooks e g into the holes and then rocking the rail down into its normal position. The plates h and j are preferably sunk into the bed K, the socket-holes m passing completely through said bed to prevent lodgment of foreign matters and clogging of the sockets. The said rail a is provided intermediate the end posts a c with a central bracing-post d, which, as shown in Fig. 3, is preferably out of line with the end posts 0 c and is curved outwardly and downwardly, so as to form a support for the central part of the overhanging or slantingly-mounted toe-rail a. Said post d is provided at its lower end with an Serial No. 49,657. (No model.)

springing apart of the posts and locking the rail against accidental displacement.

The hook at the end of post cl may, if desired, be turned in the other direction, as shown at n, Fig. 3, in which case the plate 0 would be set a little nearer the plates h and j than the normal span of the posts 0 c and d, and the post d would be sprung inwardly instead of outwardly to engage the parts.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A toe-rail for vehicles comprising a torsionally-elastic horizontal rail portion a hav ing end posts 0, 0 provided with hooked ends to engage sockets in the vehicle-bed, and an intermediate bracing and supporting post 01 secured to said rail 0 and adapted to be sprung relative to said end posts a, c, and engage at its lower end with a suitable socket in the bed of the vehicle. I 2. A toe-rail for vehicles comprising a torsionally-elastic horizontal rail portion a having rearwardly-raked end posts a, a, formed integral therewith and provided with socketengaging hooks e, g, at their lower ends to engage suitable sockets in the vehicle-bed, and a forwardly-inclined integral bracing and supporting post (1 intermediate said end posts a, c, said intermediate post 61 being adapted to be sprung outwardly from said end posts 0, c and having a socket-engaging hook at its lower end to enter a suitable socket in the vehicle-bed and lock the toe-rail in place.

Signed at Auburn, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, this 23d day of February, A. D. 1901.

SHERIDAN P. HOTALING. 

